Port of Los Angeles looks to help customers as alliances shift

Gene Seroka, executive director at the Port of Los Angeles, said 2016 was an “epic” year, and in 2017, the port will focus on improvements in process management, information technology and land use.    Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said Thursday the nation’s largest port will focus on helping its customers and supply chain partners as container shipping companies reshape their alliances in the months to come.
   Seroka, the former president of Americas at APL Limited, noted how various changes are transforming the industry, including:
     • Losses by container carriers last year, which may amount to between $5 billion and $10 billion;
     • A bevy of mergers and acquisitions that may reduce the top 20 carriers of a few years ago to just 13 or fewer players;
     • And the membership realignments and reduction in the number of space sharing agreements in the major East-West trades, including the transpacific, from four alliances to three alliances.
   In 2017, he said the port will focus on building capabilities in process management, information technology and improved land use.
   Seroka told the audience that had gathered to hear his annual State of the Port address how 2016 was an “epic” year for the port, one in which it handled 8.86 million TEUs of containers, which was two percent more than the prior record year of 2006, and the highest volume for any port in the Western Hemisphere.
   He said the port is grappling successfully with an influx of new, larger containerships, including 40 calls in 2016 by vessels with a capacity of more than 13,000 TEUs.
   Seroka, who joined the port in June 2014, highlighted “supply chain optimization” efforts at the port, noting how the port is increasing efficiency and building capability to handle more cargo. In 2017, the port will move foward by creating a “bay-wide reservation system to help balance the ebb and flow of trucks moving in and out of the port,” he said.
   Seroka said he was particularly excited about a project the port is working on with General Electric Transportation to create an electronic portal that will “digitize” cargo data that is currently handled manually. The system will “expand line of sight on inbound containers” from 2 days to as much as 2 weeks before cargo arrives at the port, which will provide cargo owners and their service suppliers with better cargo predictability and visibility, he said.
   He thanked Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co. for committing their TP6/Pearl Service between the Far East and Los Angeles to start the project, and noted support from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Federal Maritime Commission.
   The port is working with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association as well as local, state and federal government agencies and officials to develop a workforce development program for training, and “upskilling and reskilling” workers, including those who will maintain “zero emissions” equipment, which is coming into wider use as the port works to meet more stringent environmental goals.
   As part of an effort to make sure land is used for its highest and best purpose, Seroka said an 80-acre former coal export facility, the Los Angeles Export Terminal (LAXT) on Terminal Island, will be repurposed into a container support facility.
   He highlighted infrastructure projects such as automating the TraPac Terminal and an accompanying on-dock railyard that is being tested, $40 million in upgrades at berths 212-224 and the rail terminal at Yusen Terminals, a planned $40 million project at the Everport Terminal, and planned improvement at the Yang Ming Terminal.
   Last year, the port signed an extension of Eagle Marine’s lease on Pier 300 through 2043, where he noted CMA CGM has been operating in recent months and increasing terminal volumes.
   Seroka noted that the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are upgrading their Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP), which first went into effect in 2006, and has resulted in reductions in diesel particulate matter by 84 percent, sulfur oxides by 97 percent, nitrogen oxides by 50 percent and greenhouse gases by 12 percent. Ideas under consideration as the port seeks to further reduce air pollution include development and deployment of zero and near-zero trucks and cargo handling equipment, infrastructure investments to improve supply chain efficiency, a more comprehensive energy plan, and the expansion of programs to reduce ship emissions.
   “This won’t be easy, and this will be expensive” Seroka said, and the ports will look for government incentives for testing and commercialization of equipment. He said efforts to reduce air pollution should be balanced with economic growth and he asked the industry and the community to get involved in the process of updating CAAP.